A&E closures at four London hospitals

A joint committee of primary care trusts has decided to downgrade four A&E units in London.

The downgraded units are at Charing Cross, Hammersmith, Ealing and Central Middlesex hospitals.

These hospitals will turn into "local hospitals" which offer outpatient and urgent care services, while the other hospitals will become "major hospitals".

NHS North West London said "serious" emergencies would be taken to West Middlesex, Chelsea and Westminster, Northwick Park, Hillingdon and St Mary's hospitals.

Dr Mark Spencer, medical director of North West London NHS, said: "What we are recommending across north-west London is that we develop five bigger, better hospitals than we have at the moment."

"We can have consistently large teams of consultants making sure people get the very best care and in return for that we need to make some of our hospitals smaller designed around the services they need for their local community."

However MPs and council leaders opposed the decision. Julian Bell, leader of Ealing Council, said they would fight the decision "all the way" and Andy Slaughter, Labour MP for Hammersmith, said the result would be a "second-class health service for millions of Londoners".